


Outtakes from Growing Pains

by eerian_sadow



Series: Melodies of Life [13]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Age Regression, Fluff, Gen, Spiders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2015-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:41:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 2,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1911369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>short scenes while Prowl was a child that did not fit into the main narrative of "Growing Pains or The Time Prowl Was A Child Again".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wicked3659](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wicked3659/gifts).



Look, he's as healthy as can be, despite some pretty wildly improbable mass displacement and age regression. There is no reason for him to stay in the medbay and every reason for him to sleep in his own room tonight."

Prowl looked up at Ratchet and Optimus with wide optics. "Don't want to sleep alone."

Ratchet glanced down at the small mech, then crouched down to look him in the opics when he realized how truly distressed the sparkling really was. "Why not? Sparklings your age always have their own rooms, usually as far away from any siblings they have as possible."

"It's not safe. I'm scared when I'm alone." Prowl pulled his lower lip between his dental plates and chewed it. 

The medic's optics narrowed when he saw the nervous gesture. "Stop that. You'll damage the plating and I'm not sure we have tools delicate enough to fix your face structure right now."

"Ratchet." Optimus' tone was stern, even as Prowl obeyed and stopped chewing his lip. "Prowl is a frightened child. There is no shame in him showing that fear."

"Sorry, Prime." The white and red mech reached out and put a hand on the sparkling's head. "I'm sorry, Prowl. I didn't mean that the way it came out. I know you're scared and you're trying to be brave instead."

Prowl nodded.

"Who do you want to stay with?" Ratchet asked him. "Depending on who it is, we can probably re-arrange shifts to accommodate you."

"Sideswipe, Jazz or Optimus," the sparkling replied without hesitation. "Smokescreen or Sunstreaker would be okay, too."

The medic sighed. 

Optimus nodded. "Not unexpected choices. They are his closest family members."

"He's only related to Smokescreen," Ratchet retorted.

"That does not make them any less family. Some of us are fortunate enough to choose our brothers."

"Want Sideswipe." Prowl started chewing his lip again.

"Stop that!" The white and red mech ordered.

Optimus sighed and opened a comm line. Hopefully Sideswipe would be willing to accommodate their tiny second in command.


	2. Chapter 2

Sunstreaker stared down at Prowl. Prowl stared up at Sunstreaker. Both of them frowned.

"Want Jazz," Prowl declared firmly.

"You and me both." Sunstreaker crossed his arms and glared. "But I'm stuck with you until everyone gets back from this stupid trip to the Arctic, so you better suck it up."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means don't be a sparkling who whines about things he can't change."

"Then you better suck it up, too." Prowl crossed _his_ arms and glared right back. "Because you're stuck with me until Sideswipe or Jazz gets home."

"Stop reminding me!"

"You should get some cookies too," the sparkling added. "Cookies make me be nicer."

"That would have been useful to know vorns ago," Sunstreaker pouted.


	3. Chapter 3

"Can I help?" Prowl asked, climbing up onto the bench next to Bluestreak.

"Hi, Prowl. Sure you can help." The silver and grey Praxian smiled at the smaller mech. "I'm just cleaning my rifles. Do you remember how to do that? If you don't, I can show you. It's really easy."

The sparkling thought for a moment, searching for the memories he should have from his time as an adult. It took a little work, but he managed to access the right files and he smiled at the achievement. "I remember! What do you want me to work on?"

"You can work on this one." Bluestreak moved a small, low-powered rifle out of the line of weapons he had sitting on the table and set it in front of Prowl. "I haven't used it in a while, so it probably needs some extra love."

"Okay!" Prowl's smile widened at being given the special task.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the scene with the spiders. i do not know why there is a scene with spiders, but here it is. my brain is a sadist, apparently. you can skip this and never miss a thing.

Prowl wandered the halls of the _Ark_ , exploring his home. He was in one of the unused sections where the crash had ripped open the ship's hull and the mountain had left mounds of dirt piled inside. Sideswipe said he had found all sorts of treasures in these parts of the ship, and the sparkling was curious to know what else might still be hiding.

There were a lot of spiders. Some of them were creepy. Some of them were huge and fluffy and a little funny looking. One of them was black and yellow and was actually kind of pretty. He wondered if Beachcomber and Skyfire knew all these spiders were down here; he was sure they would like to study them.

One of the spiders dropped down onto Prowl's hand. He stared in fascination as the creature used his fingers as anchor points for a web. He watched intently as it built the web, saving the process to a video file. 

He smiled at the creature as it worked, happy to let it use his hand for now. Eventually, he would have to figure out how to move the spider without smashing it, but he had plenty of time until then.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major spoilers for A Hard Knock Life V: Betrayal in this scene. Read that first to avoid those and to fully understand this one.

"Sideswipe?"

The red twin onlined his optics and stared blearily at the sparkling standing next to him. It had taken hours before he could power down to recharge on the couch, and he was not nearly rested enough to be functional yet. "Wha?"

"I had a bad dream. Can I recharge with you?"

"What?" Sideswipe blinked, hoping to clear some of the fog from his processor. "Prowl we don't have dreams."

"But I did!" Prowl stomped his foot and scowled. "There was a femme and she hurt you and Smokescreen and she tried to kill me!"

"Oh, slag." The frontliner sat up and pulled the sparkling into a tight hug. "That wasn't a dream Prowl. That was a memory purge. Your processor is bringing up memories of stuff that happened a long time ago."

The small mech snuggled into the embrace. "But why? And don't I remember any other time?"

"Probably because you're so scared right now with how everything changed." Sideswipe rubbed Prowl's back and wished he didn't remember that day quite so well. "And you do remember it, almost every day. It's just a really old memory, so your processor only brings it up when you want to see it."

"Oh." The black and white sparkling laid his head on Sideswipe's chest. "Will I remember more things from when I was a grown up?"

"Probably. Ratchet said none of your memories were deleted."

"Will it all be scary like this one?"

"A lot of it will be, especially since you're not a grown up now. Some of the grown up things you did before were pretty scary, even for me." The red mech gave the sparkling a squeeze. "But not everything was scary. We've had some really great times."

"I'll try to be brave," Prowl said softly.

"You don't have to try," Sideswipe told him. "You've always been the bravest person I know."

"Even when I want to recharge with you?"

"Even then."


	6. Chapter 6

Prowl darted out of his hiding place with a smile and sprinted toward Jazz. The saboteur swept him up in a hug and held him tightly as Optimus ordered the Autobots back to the _Ark_.

"You okay, sweetspark?" Jazz asked, looking down at the smaller mech.

"I'm okay," the sparkling replied, leaning up and grinning at the visored mech. "And I did just what you said! I hid where the Decepticons wouldn't see, but I could and I made a recording! Did you know that Motormaster has a bad ankle joint? It's on my video. You can see how he can't walk right and everything!"

"Good job, Prowl." The adult mech hugged him again. "I knew you could still be useful if you got caught outside during a raid. Was I right about it being less scary?"

"You were! I was so busy making sure I was taking video that I didn't have time to be scared!"

"Good, good." Jazz made his way toward Optimus, finally smiling along with his small friend. "You can tell us everything you saw over cookies and sweet energon. Sound good?"

"Yeah!"


	7. Chapter 7

7\. "Prowl, what are you doing?!" Sunstreaker looked at the sparkling aghast, as Prowl climbed up onto his bench and jostled the painting supplies sitting next to him.

"Here." The smaller mech held out a messily package. "For you."

"I thought we weren't talking anymore." The artist set his brush down and took the package.

"I shouldn't have been mean to you. You were scared, just like me and sometimes we say the wrong things when we're scared." Prowl pointed at the package. "So that's for you, to show I'm really sorry for being mean."

"Me too," Sunstreaker said softly. "I just didn't know what to do, because you're you and not all at the same time."

"I know." The small mech sat down and scooted himself against the larger mech's side. "You should open it."

The artist nodded and began unwrapping the package. He unwound yards of paper before finally reaching a plain metal box with a hinged lid. Sunstreaker glanced at Prowl, who was watching him intently, before lifting the lid.

Sitting inside the box, planted in a childishly painted pot, was a violet colored crystal spire.

"Oh, Prowl. Is this from your personal garden?" He would never stop being amazed by how the tactician had coaxed growth out of the crystals that should have died in the cargo bay during their stasis.

Prowl nodded. "It's the same color as the ones that were at our house. I remember how you picked those special."

"Because they grew from such rare minerals." Sunstreaker smiled and ran careful fingers over the sides of the crystal. "Will you teach me how to take care of it?"

"I will!" The sparkling smiled, glad his gift was liked.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some adult Prowl in this outtake, set after Perceptor drags him in to medbay for that processor scan.

"Ratchet?"

"Everything all right, Prowl?" The medic's expression was mildly concerned.

"Fine. I just have a question."

"Okay. Go for it." Ratchet set his stylus down on his desk, indicating that the tactician had his full attention.

"Yesterday, after the processor scan, you said that my emotional centers were less stressed than they have been." The black and white mech looked down at his hands for a moment. "Do you think...?"

"I'm sorry, Prowl." The white and red mech frowned. "Your emotional centers are still integrated incorrectly. They're _better_ , likely as an effect of the age regression, but they're not fixed. There's still nothing I can do after so long."

"I see." Prowl looked away from the other mech. "Is my processor likely to return to its pre-regression state?"

"You mean how you were after I did what repairs I could the first time I looked at your processor or that phase where you could barely emote at all?"

"Either."

"No, I don't think so." Ratchet shook his head. "The changes give every indication of being permanent. You're likely to still have trouble processing some input or expressing your own emotions, but overall I'd say that the age regression did you and your processor a huge favor."

"You are certain?" There was a faint trace of hope in Prowl's question.

"Very. You'd need a pretty severe trauma to the cranial vault to undo the new repairs, which is unlikely with the way you've reinforced your armor." The medic gestured toward the couch he kept in his office for the times he needed to sleep while there were patients in the medbay. "Why don't you sit, and tell me the real reason you're asking."

The tactician nodded and moved over to the sofa. He had intended to discuss this topic with Jazz, but Ratchet would also be able to give him advice and could be trusted not to gossip--at least, not gossip beyond what other bots would see in public. "I have started a relationship with Sideswipe. I'm worried that my emotional limitations will damage it and that I will lose someone I care for very deeply."

"Oh, Prowl, you don't need to worry about that. Sideswipe's been in love with you for as long as I've known him." Ratchet smiled at him.

"He has?" Prowl blinked. "How do you know?"

"I have the benefit of being on the outside, looking in at you two. That mech is so in love with you that I'm a little jealous. The only reason I haven't said anything before is because I could never quite tell how you'd react." The medic gave him a half-smile. "He may be a brightly painted pain in my aft, but I do like him and I didn't want to hurt him accidentally if you didn't feel the same way."

"I think... That I have also loved Sideswipe for a very long time. I was just too damaged and too frightened of being hurt again to allow myself to process it."

"Then I think you two are going to be just fine. He's too stubborn to give you up just because of a little emotional processor trouble, anyway."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Tiny Prowl!

"Prowl?" Sideswipe spun around in place, looking for the sparkling who had been right next to him not thirty seconds before. "Hey, where'd you go, kiddo?"

The sparkling didn't reply and the red mech had to fight down a rising surge of pan8c. Assuming he didn't die from guilt, everyone--especially Jazz--would kill him if he lost Prowl. There would be a line, and Ratchet would revive him repeatedly so every bot would get his turn.

"Come on, Prowl." He knew his voice had gone quavery, and he didn't care. "This isn't funny. Where did you go?"

He activated his scanners and rested the urge to call his brother. (Sunstreaker was more likely to be a hindrance than a help right now, and he'd slow things down berating Sideswipe for losing their second in command instead of helping him look.) Then, carefully, he turned another full circle, playing his scanners over the walking trail and the surrounding plant life.

To his left, the frontliner registered rapidly cooling leaves. Someone or something had passed through the bushes just off the trail. He would have heard a deer, but Prowl had been supernaturally quiet for as long as Sideswipe had known him.

With an excess of relieft, the red twin turned off the path and headed into the undergrowth. He turned up the sensitivity on his external scanners and followed the clear-but-fading heat trail they showed him.

"Prowl?" He called out every few seconds, until he got a response.

"Shh! You're too loud! You're scaring them!"

The frontliner stepped into a clearing to see Prowl crouched down next to a pair of fawns. One of them had its head butted up under the sparkling's hand, but both were frozen in fear.

"Well you scared me!" Sideswipe replied. "Why did you run off like that?"

"I thought you saw me." Prowl frowned at the larger mech. "I wanted to see the babies, so I came to see. Hound said they like us."

"You should have told me. I was terrified that something had happened to you." The frontliner stepped closer and crouched down next to the sparkling. "I'm not trying to ruin your fun, but you're so quiet that I don't hear you leave."

"And you thought maybe there were Decepticons?"

"Or a cliff, or a sinkhole or a tree fell on you or something." He put an arm around the small mech and hugged him close. "I was afraid you were gone forever."

"I promise, I'll tell you next time." Prowl removed his hand from the top of the deer's head so he could return Sideswipe's hug. "Can we stay with the babies for a little while, anyway? I like them."

"Sure, for a little while." Sideswipe tightened his hug and held the sparkling for a few kliks longer. "We don't have to be back at the _Ark_ til shift change."

"Can we see if Cosmos has any cookies left after we get back?"

The red mech laughed. "You and your cookies. Why didn't I know you were such a junk food addict before?"

"I dunno. Can we?"

"Sure. We'll ask about cookies when we get back." Sideswipe gave Prowl one last squeeze before letting the sparkling go. "Now, go play with your new friends for a little bit."

"Okay!" 

Sideswipe sighed as the small mech returned his attention to the fawns, letting the last of his panicked tension bleed away. When they got back to base, he was _definitely_ asking Ratchet about the possibility of installing a better passive tracking suite. 

Losing Prowl, ever, was not an option.


End file.
